


Final Developments

by Thingsenjoyed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Universe, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Happy Ending, I love pidge and lance more than pidge loves lance, I mean there's some fighting in there but nothing too violent, Insecure Lance (Voltron), MATT AND PIDGE ARE ADORABLE SIBLINGS, Near Death Experiences, Pining Pidge | Katie Holt, Post Season 7, Starts out bed but them gets okay but then gets bad again I'm sorry, first time writing in a loooong time, im horrid at writing fight scenes, im horrid at writing in general, lance realizes his feelings, mfe fighters mentioned, pidge gives the pep talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15710370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thingsenjoyed/pseuds/Thingsenjoyed
Summary: Just when the paladins think they're in the clear, another Galra ship shows up, and it's come with nothing they've faced before.And that's not the only problem.Lance doesn't trust himself, and Pidge has no people skills.But maybe they can help each other.





	Final Developments

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fic and it has been a loooong time since I've written anything, so don't expect perfection. :) This was inspired by a masterpost on Tumblr and a bunch of other posts about how Lance and Pidge can help each other complete their character arcs and I absolutely loved it so I wanted to write it.  
> Okay it starts off kinda not good but then I think it gets better so like, hang in there.
> 
> Anywayyyy, I really hope you enjoy. :D

     Flashes of red fill her vision, black to red, then black again. Even with her eyes closed she can still see the lights, like when you close your eyes and face the sun and it suddenly isn't dark anymore. 

     Pidge opens her eyes for the first time in what feels like days - although it couldn't have been more than one at most. She squints at the beams of light blinking on and off in her hospital room. The alarm doesn't do her any better, and she can already feel a headache coming on at the sound. Ignoring the wave of dizziness that washes over her body at the sudden movement, she lifts herself up, scanning the room around her. 

     The once bustling area is now unoccupied, save for the groaning girl swinging her legs out of bed and treading towards the closed door. Her feet are bare, and the cold tile floor sends shivers up her spine at each step, but, again, the feeling is pushed aside as more important thoughts invade her mind.

     It had only been a couple of days since the paladins were admitted into the Garrison's hospital. They were under strict orders to stay in bed, and although Pidge had been itching to get her hands on something to do, a part of her was grateful for the rest ( _after_ she'd already been caught trying to sneak out and threatened to be tied down by her mother, of course). But now, standing in the door way to her room, she knew she had bigger things to worry about than getting a scolding from her mom.

     A man clothed in the familiar grey suit of the Garrison nearly runs her over before she can take two steps into the hallway, screaming into his headset about a Galra cruiser spotted heading towards Earth. 

_As if everyone hadn't gone through enough this past week._

     "Paladins! We need you in your lions, hurry!" Is all that comes over the intercom, gone by too fast to determine who it was who'd spoken. 

     Pidge doesn't think twice before sprinting down the hall as fast as her recovering body would take her. She passes door after door, the hallway growing empty as every Garrison personnel has retreated to their workstations. Her lion feels miles away and her pace just doesn't seem fast enough as her legs grow weaker each step. It's too late to stop when a figure darts out from an open doorway, colliding with her and knocking her onto the floor. She struggles to breathe for a moment, angry when she begins to cough, as it prevents her from telling off the culprit.

     "Pidge?" 

     She can only groan in response.

     Lance lifts himself off of her and onto his feet, holding out a hand for her to take. Pidge takes it, blushing at the feeling of his warm hand encompassing her own. He doesn't let go right away - something she would never admit to be happy about - looking down at her with worry in his eyes and the edges of his lips tilted downwards.

     "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" He asks, tilting her head from side to side, looking for any signs of bruising.

     She shakes her head, pulling away before her face can get any redder. "It's fine. _I'm_ fine. We need to go."

     Lance nods, releasing her hand, and Pidge is left wondering when she'd get to hold it again. They run side by side to where their lions are stored.

     "What's going on?" He questions.

     "Galra. What else?" She almost smirks at the joke.

     Lance, on the other hand, doesn't hold back a smile, "You're right, what was I thinking?"

     They chuckle at that, rounding the corner to see Keith, Hunk, and Allura already there and putting on their armor. Lance and Pidge follow suit, throwing on their armor as quickly as possible. Shiro, Matt, and Sam enter soon after.

     "A Galra cruiser has been spotted near Earth, but it's much bigger than we've ever seen before. The MFE fighters are already in their planes, ready to launch when necessary." Sam pauses, his eyebrows lowering even further, "I know you're all still recovering from the last battle, do you think you're ready to pilot the lions again in such short time?"

     The paladins each share a look before returning their gaze to the three men before them, nodding. 

     "Earth needs us. We must keep fighting until we can be sure everyone is safe," Allura assures.

     "Unfortunately, we don't know when that is, are you sure you guys are ready for this?" Shiro rests his new hand on Keith's shoulder, his eyes scanning over the group of teens.

     "It doesn't matter. You said this ship was unlike anything we've seen before. We don't know what it can do, or what the Galra have planned next," Keith argues.

     "And after the last robeast we faced, Voltron is needed more than ever," Pidge adds, crossing her arms.

     "Okay, but, we could _barely_ beat the last robeast. We almost _died_." Hunk's expression is full of worry and doubt as he says this, "Plus it was being controlled by an _Altean_. What if this new ship is being run by thousands of angry Alteans just waiting to rip us apart?" 

     Hunks words did nothing to ease the group, though Pidge figured he had a point. Nobody had any idea what they were up against. They could be throwing themselves into a fight they could never win.

     Keith takes a deep breath, "You're right, Hunk. We have plenty of reasons to be afraid, but our fear is what drives us to make it through. If we give up now, everything we've worked for would be for nothing. The only thing we can do now is try." His eyes survey each of his teammates, almost as if pleading with them.

     "Lets do this." Lance says, eyes flashing with determination. Everyone agrees, slipping on their helmets and departing for their lions.

     After a series of shoulder squeezes and reluctant smiles from her team (no hugs, as hugs meant goodbye), Pidge pauses outside Green's open jaws, watching Lance's departing figure and silently praying that this won't be the last time she sees him in person. 

     "Good luck out there, Katie." She turns her head, finding Matt and her dad standing side by side, arms outstretched. Tears she'd been holding in for too long finally fall from her eyes, leaving behind tracks she can't wipe away without removing her helmet. Pidge throws her arms around their shoulders, pulling them close. 

     "Stay safe, Pidge," Matt whispers. She returns the order with a sniff and pulls away before she changes her mind and never lets go. How many more times do they have to put themselves in danger before she can go to sleep at night without wondering if the next day would allow her to live or die? She tries not to think about it.

     She settles in her lion, preparing for takeoff when Shiro's face appears on the screen in front of her.

     "The MFE fighters, and the rebels will be right behind you, let us know if you need _anything_ , okay?" A chorus of agreements sound through her headset, and in the echoes lies a silent promise to make it out alive.

     An empty promise, but a promise.

     She pulls out of Atlas, hovering just over the Garrison with the rest of her team. The Galra haven't arrived just yet, so Pidge allows herself time to think.

     And the first person to appear in her mind, is _Lance_.

     It'd been a couple days since she'd seen him or any of the others, and it was safe to say she missed them. Missed _him_. Pidge hated when they were separated, especially after a battle. She disliked not knowing if her friends were okay, often trying to think of the last thing she'd said to them and hoping it wasn't something she'd come to regret.

     Her mind returns to the image of Lance and Allura, something that's been bothering her ever since it happened. Allura, it seems, has come to return Lance's feelings, and just the thought of it brings angry tears to Pidge's eyes. The slight tickle of the tears trickling down her cheeks only serve to make her angrier, digging her nails into her palms and biting her lip until it hurts. 

     She hated Allura for changing her mind. For recognizing how amazing Lance is _after_ getting screwed over by Lotor. She hated how easy it was for Lance to fall for Allura. She hated how effortlessly _perfect_ she was in every way.

     And most of all, she hated herself for hating Allura. Because Allura didn't do anything wrong. Neither did Lance and -

     "Incoming!"

     An explosion hits the particle barrier surrounding the Garrison. Luckily, they'd repaired it since the last fight. 

     Pidge flies her lion towards the small hole in the barrier, soon finding herself out in the open. 

     She dodges a blast from an oncoming fighter jet, quickly shooting it down, only for more to appear. A shot just barely grazes her lion, and in return she hurtles towards the group. The fighters veer left, but Pidge had snatched on to the wing of one before it could escape. She spins around and flings the fighter towards the rest, taking out two in the process. Pidge smirks, happy for the distraction. 

     Well, as happy as she could be fighting the Galra. 

     "Paladins, try to focus on the main ship, it doesn't seem to be stopping. I think it's trying to land!" Shiro calls out over the comms. Pidge takes out a couple more fighters before heading towards the ship. She and Allura fly side by side.

     "Pidge! Cover me while I freeze over their ion cannons!" Allura yells.

     "You got it!" 

     Already, a fighter hooks onto Blue, which Pidge takes out with a shot from Green's tail. 

     Pidge grunts as she is flung forward onto the dashboard. She doesn't take time to recover from the blow before retaliating. Vines shoot out from the interior of the fighter and it goes down, plummeting towards the ground like a meteor. She checks back on Allura, who had just finished freezing over the ship's ion cannons.

     "Good work, Allura!" Keith praises, "Now lets -" His sentence is cut off with a scream coming from Lance's end.

     "A little help over here!" He grunts, taking down another fighter. 

     "I got you, Buddy!" Hunk rams through the group of fighters on Lance's tail as Pidge shoots one down with her vines. 

     "That seems to be the last of the fighters... Does anyone else think that was a _little_ too easy?" Hunk's suspicious tone is lost when Keith flies in between them.

     "We can't worry about that now, lets just take out the main ship and get it done."

     Pidge drives her lion into formation, opening her mind to her team and allowing herself to become the left arm of Voltron. She can feel Green's energy radiating through her body, mixing in with her own, and their minds becoming one. When she reopens her eyes, she is no longer in a single lion, but a single body.

     She can feel Hunk's fear driven strength, Allura's pure willpower, Keith's anger, and Lance's courage, all meshing with her own to create one movement, one swipe of the arm. They form their sword, cutting through the side of the ship with little effort, slicing through their defenses and earning no retaliation. It was as if...

     "Guys, we need to stop!"

     But it was too late, the ship was going down. The thrusters were no longer operating and the cruiser landed on the ground with a loud bang.

     And it was silent, like it was over.

     Pidge had a bad feeling this battle had only just begun.

     "Pidge? Is something wrong?" Lance's face appeared on her screen. 

     It was too easy. The Galra wouldn't just come back with a big-ass ship that didn't work and a couple of fighters, no way.

     "We didn't win," She mumbles, mostly to herself. They Galra stole their idea, and they'd taken the bait.

     This time Hunk appears next to Lance's, "What are you talking about, we took down the whole thing!" He cheers, "Man, am I ready for a nap."

     "Hunk, you said it yourself, it was too easy."

     "Uh, yeah, but I never said it was a _bad_ thing."

     "What do you think we should do, Pidge?" Lance asks.

     "We should -"

     "Move!" Allura screams.

     Pidge clears her screen just in time to see an enormous, purple laser heading towards them from the destroyed ship. Before Voltron can move, it strikes them right in the torso, where the heart would be.

     The shock spreads throughout each of the limbs, and Pidge can feel herself being ripped apart from her friends, their minds being forcefully separated. She screams, and so does the others, the pain from the lions being transferred partially to them. Green's power plummets, falling to the ground, and, suddenly, Pidge can't feel her in her mind.

     The shock disconnected them completely from their lions.

     Pidge opens her eyes, her body pulsing from the impact. Her heartbeat echoes through her brain. 

     She reaches towards her head, touching only hair and realizing she'd lost her helmet in the crash. Her ears ring, but the longer she concentrates she begins to hear more.

     Screams. Rage.

     Blasts.

     Death.

     She had to get out there.

     Her head pounds with dizziness for the second time today as she lifts herself off the floor of her lion. Closing her eyes, she places a palm on her forehead at an attempt to stop her mind from spinning.

     The feeling reminds her of a carousel she rode when she was younger, spinning and spinning, buildings passing by. She missed that carousel... She'd have to go with Lance one day...

     Pidge gasps.

     Lance.

     Keith, Allura, Hunk.

     She opens her eyes, searching frantically now for her helmet.

     When she finds it, she shoves it on and turns on the comms.

     "- hundreds. No, _thousands_."

     "They must've known we're less equipped to fight on ground than in the sky!"

     "Get the rebels out here, _now_!"

     "We're on our way!"

     Pidge summons her bayard and crawls out of Green's slightly open jaw. The scene around her is chaos, hundreds of sentries and thousands more Galra go hand to hand with the rebels and whatever coalition members decided to stay on Earth. The MFE fighters shoot down from above, but are limited as to avoid shooting someone on their side.

     Shiro was right. They were more prepared to fight in the sky rather than on foot, and unless they got Atlas back up and working again, their chances of winning grew smaller by the second.

     A shot whizzes past her head, followed by the fist of an approaching sentry. Pidge ducks, only narrowly missing the blow, before shoving her foot into the machine's chest, slicing off it's head with her bayard. She continues with this method, making her way through the endless mob of Galra to search for her friends.

     She comes across a fallen fighter jet, climbing onto the wing for a better vantage point. She spots Hunk, then Allura, then Keith... But no Lance. _Where_ is Lance?

     She feels a hand wrap around her ankle. She aims at the arm with her bayard, but the Galra tugs. She loses her footing, hitting her back against the metal wing. Pidge uses her other foot and kicks her heel into the Galra's eye. He looses his grip, but the action only served to him angrier. He pulls her off the wing, wrapping a hand around her neck and slamming her against the side. 

     Her vision begins to fade when the hand around her throat releases her and she falls to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. 

     "Come on, we need to find a better spot!"

     Lance.

     Thank God.

     She takes his hand and they run. He shoots down sentry after sentry with his rifle, but for every one he takes down it's like another five appear in its place. It doesn't take long for them to find themselves surrounded, fighting non-stop, taking down Galra after Galra. Pidge's energy quickly deteriorates, and she knows she's running on pure fear and adrenaline at this point. Who knows how much more she can take?

     "Ugh! This isn't working!" Lance exclaims from over the noise around them. They're back to back at this point, protecting not only themselves, but each other.

     "Don't you have like, a super handy Altean sword that'd be super helpful right now?" Pidge remarks, her usual sass leaking into her tone.

     "I haven't gotten it to work again! I don't know how!"

     "What do you mean you don't know _how_?"

     "I mean, it just happened! I didn't make it do anything!"

     Pidge wraps her tether around a sentry, swinging it into another, "Are you kidding me? You're saying not even being in the midst of a war can bring out the _fucking_ sword?" She was getting angry now, she didn't understand what exactly the problem was, and she hated not knowing how to solve it.

     "I'm as upset as you are, Pidge, but there's not much I can do about it right now!" His tone was angry as well, and now they were having an argument in the middle of a fight. She would laugh at the stupidity later.

     "Just _try_ , Lance!"

     "I can't!"

     "Lance!" She elbows another sentry in the head, shooting another with her bayard over it's shoulder.

     "I said, I _can't_! I'm not good enough!"

     "What?" She screams, disbelief in her voice.

     "I'm not good enough! I'm not good enough for Red, and I'm not good enough for the sword, okay?"

     "Lance -"

     "I don't belong here, Pidge! I'm just a dumb kid who failed most of his classes, gets rejected by every girl, and can't keep up with his lion's needs because I'm. Not. Good. Enough! I can't _do_ this..." His voice trails off as he shoots down another Galra. The circle has definitely closed in on them, and they don't have as much room to maneuver as they did before. Pidge should be focusing on the fight, but she makes the split second decision to focus on something else.

     The guy she loved.

     "Shut up, Lance."

     "What?"

     "Just shut up and listen to me!" She takes a deep breath. Her movements are automated, and she tries not to think too hard about his back against hers. "Lance, you're not the same guy I met at the Garrison. You're not the dumb, flirty, egotistical asshole who only ever wanted to have fun."

     "Hey!"

     "Lance. I know I've never said this before, or even really showed it. I've never been good at that. But, I admire you a lot. You're strong, and brave, and you put _everyone_ else before yourself and as stupid as I think that is, I also think it makes you the most selfless person I've ever met. And the truth is? You're actually _really_ smart, just in your own way. And I'm _sorry_ for making fun of you all the time, and I'm _sorry_ for making you feel like less than you actually are. Because you're amazing, Lance. And I _know_ you can do this because you can do things _nobody_ else can. You just have to believe that!"

     And in that moment, she'd let her guard down, just for the moment, but it meant everything.

     She'd messed up her shot, aiming a little too high, just barely missing the sentry's head. It raised it's gun, pointed it right at her,

     and shot.

* * *

     It feels like everything that comes next happens in slow motion. 

     He hears her scream first, then watches her fall from the corner of his eye. He hadn't even been able to process Pidge's words after they'd been said, but Lance knows three things.

     He trusts her.

     He loves her.

     And she is dying.

     His hand tingles, but he never stops moving, not when a flash of white surrounds his being, and not when his weapon stops firing off lasers and instead slices through his enemies almost effortlessly. He kicks and he punches and he swings, reaching his limit and going further still. He receives cuts and bruises of his own, but they don't matter.

     Only one thing matters.

     And he fights for her.

     Eventually, by some miracle, the Galra stop coming, even if just for a couple minutes. Not much time, but _enough_.

     She lies on her back, her breathing shallow, but she's alive, if barely. She doesn't have much time.

     He dismisses his bayard and rushes to her side, sliding one arm under her legs and the other around the back of her neck. He lifts her, gently, so gently, but that doesn't stop her from crying out at the sudden movement.

     "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm gonna run now. It's gonna hurt, but I have to get you somewhere safe." He tells her.

     He runs as fast as he can, trying his hardest not to jostle her, but to no avail. He dodges so many Galra, keeping her still is impossible, and he the whimpers that escape her lips feel like knives in his heart. Every time he looks up, the edge of the particle barrier seems no closer than before, and Lance is beginning to lose hope.

     The girl in his arms is growing paler by the second, she doesn't have much time.

     "No, no, no."

     "Lance!"

     He turns toward the voice, smiling at the sight. 

     His sister Veronica barrels towards him in one of the Garrison vehicles, driving over piles of bodies without complication. Allura sits in the passenger seat, and he can see Keith and Hunk through the window. A wave of relief washes over him knowing his friends were okay.

     Veronica pulls up next to him, "Get in, we're evacuating! We're gonna try and get Atlas up and running again, but until then then, the MFE's are gonna try and take care of them from above." She explains the current plan while Lance climbs in the vehicle, Hunk and Keith assisting with Pidge. They lay her across the back seat and Lance takes a seat on the ground, holding one of her hands with his.

     It takes about five minutes getting through the particle barrier and to the front doors of the Garrison, and the paladins waste no time in getting their friend help.

     "Get a gurney and a med-team down here, now!" Veronica begins yelling out orders before she even gets out of the vehicle, Keith gets out first, taking Pidge from Lance's arms so he can get out next, Hunk and Allura follow suit. The others are each sporting injuries of their own, but they pay them no attention, their eyes never leaving Pidge. 

     All at once, the adrenaline wears off and Lance's injuries make themselves known. He becomes fully aware of the bleeding shot in his thigh, an injury he didn't even realize he'd gotten, and his head begins to spin. He can't tell how many figures are running down the hall at this point.

     He begins to lose his footing, leaning a hand on Hunk's shoulder to steady himself.

     "Hey, Buddy. You okay?" 

     Lance moans in response, focusing - or trying to focus - on the red figure placing the green on one of the gurneys.

     It's okay...

     He sways.

     She's safe now...

     He falls.

* * *

     This time, when Pidge opens her eyes, there are no red lights to blind her, only the light coming from her window. 

     This pleases her. She feels sleep pulling her back in until a slight pain in her abdomen sends recent memories flooding into her mind.

     She groans, sitting in an upward position, only to be nudged back down.

     "I don't think so. You were shot with a laser, not given a paper cut. You need to rest."

     "How long has it been?"

     "Mm... About a day. You woke up earlier than expected though, probably something to do with Allura's magic hands. Mom and Dad are taking care of some stuff, but they're excited to see you."

     "Matt?"

     "Hmm?"

     "Where's Lance?"

     Matt's expression softens, a teasing smile making its way onto his face, "He's gonna be okay. He won't stop asking for you and hobbling around on his injured leg trying to come see you, but they won't let him until you're awake."

     Pidge giggles at that, rubbing her tired eyes with her hand, "I'm awake now."

     Matt laughs, "Yeah, yeah, I'll let them know. Don't get up, though," He orders, heading towards the door.

     "I won't. And, Matt?" 

     He pauses halfway through the doorway to look back at her, "Yeah?"

     "I love you."

     "I love you too, Katie." 

     Silent minutes pass after Matt leaves, letting Pidge be alone with her thoughts. For once, she doesn't think about anything in particular. She thinks about how heavy her eyelids feel as she watches the soft movement of the curtains. She thinks about her breathing, listening to the gentle hum of the air conditioner.

     For the first time, Pidge feels completely peacef -

     A loud thump sounds from the hall, followed by the jiggling of the doorknob and the click of the door, startling her.

     "Heh, I'm okay, don't worry about me." Lance assures, slipping inside her room before closing the door on an angry looking nurse. He turns around, leaning against the door with a dramatic sigh, "Gosh, all these ladies won't leave me alone. I know I'm famous now but a guy needs his space."

     Pidge scoffs, "They're only hanging around you because they _have_ to."

     Lance smirks, placing a hand over his heart, "Ouch. What happened to nice Pidge?"

     She rolls her eyes, "She was shot, so she's not being nice anymore."

     Lance's smile disappears when he sits in the chair next to her bed, "Did you really mean all those things you said back there?"

     "Of course I did. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

     Lance's smile returns, making her heart melt. He grabs her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, "Thank you. I really needed to hear that. From you."

     Pidge frowns, "Why me?"

     He squeezes her hand, "Because you're insanely smart, and brutally honest. You're always right." He looks her right in the eye, "And I trust you, everything you say."

     He climbs up next to her on the bed, still holding her hand, "And I _need_ you, Pidge, because you make me a better person, you're everything that I'm not and I love that about you." He leans down, his forehead touching hers, "I love _you_ , Pidge."

     The room is silent as she takes in his words. He seems almost as surprised as her when he says it, as if he'd been relying on pure...

     Instinct.

     She'd waited so long to hear him say those words to her, even wondering if they'd ever be directed towards her at all, a thought that never failed to break her heart. But here it was, happening in her Garrison hospital room, wearing the same orange and white outfit as him, and feeling so completely... Happy.

     "Hm, took you long enough," Pidge teases. A smirk present on her face.

     "Are you kidding me?" Lance leans back.

     The nurse opens the door, "Times up, you two."

     "Alright, alright." Lance slides out of bed, limping towards the open door.

     "Hey, Lance?"

     He turns, "Yeah?"

     "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> If you've reached the end, thank you so much for reading and I'd LOVE to know what you thought cause I love getting feedback on things!  
> (IS THIS TOO FAST PACED?)


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